China doll

Layers, layers, layers
He peeled me raw
I’m a mannequin breath
Held hostage for the indulgence of sight

Fear frozen—I declare this city full of strangeness
Hostility to bear like menstrual cramps

Strangeness,
In his burgundy coat
Strangeness,
In his coffin lips

He seeks baby food on my nipples
That funereal slackness in his pause before the roar

I,
An oriental doll like a free sample
Oozing after the first rip
The second—
The third—
And then a used condom to be thrown away

But my hands reached for the wad of cash after
A shot of heroin gold,
A sick addiction to promises
By cheap department stores or salmon filets

One more man, conquered.

 

Artwork by Yeo Tze Yang, “Set Meal”, 2016